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September 1918

Historical reminder not to get tunnel-vision on just the battlefield.

The largest and bloodiest battle in American history, with over 1 million soldiers involved and over 100,000 casualties including some 26,000 killed in action, began one hundred years ago on September 26, 1918.

In the summer of 1918, as the Great War raged and American doughboys fell on Europe’s killing fields, the City of Brotherly Love organized a grand spectacle. To bolster morale and support the war effort, a procession for the ages brought together marching bands, Boy Scouts, women’s auxiliaries, and uniformed troops to promote Liberty Loans –government bonds issued to pay for the war. The day would be capped off with a concert led by the “March King” himself –John Philip Sousa.

Within 72 hours of the parade, every bed in Philadelphia’s 31 hospitals was filled. In the week ending October 5, some 2,600 people in Philadelphia had died from the flu or its complications. A week later, that number rose to more than 4,500. With many of the city’s health professionals pressed into military service, Philadelphia was unprepared for this deluge of death.

Thanks Adam for this reminder of how the USA fought in September 1918, as part of the 'Hundred Days Campaign' that ended WW1. It is a long time since I read the history and the following link has a very short summary.
Link:http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/...91279-0173.xml

In just 18 months at least a third of the world’s population was infected. Estimates on the exact number of fatalities vary wildly, from 20 million to 50 million to 100 million deaths. If the upper end of that estimate is accurate, the 1918 pandemic killed more people than both World Wars put together.

The picture we have of the 1918 flu pandemic is vastly more detailed today than it was 20 years ago, let alone 50 or 100 years ago. But it’s nowhere near complete. Pathologist Jeffery Taubenberger of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – the man who in 2005, with his colleague Ann Reid, published the genetic sequence of the virus responsible for the pandemic – said at a recent conference there were still many unanswered outstanding questions.

Researchers all over the world are working hard to answer them. But what they have already uncovered might surprise you.

1914-1918 Essays on Leadership & War

The international historical group, the Western Front Association (based in the UK) has published on their website a series of essays by the late John Terraine, whose work had a large part in revising the history of WW1.

“Influenza pandemics are like earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis: they occur, and some are much worse than others,” says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “The idea that we would not have another 1918-like event is foolish.”

But when that will happen, he continues, is impossible to predict: “For all we know, it could be starting as we speak.” It’s also impossible to predict exactly how things will play out when a Spanish flu-like strain does reemerge – but we can make some educated guesses.